“Rosary Unites”: In five years of prayer, Zhyve TV broadcast over 1,500 programs from 40 countries worldwide
For five years, Ukrainians have gathered every evening to pray the rosary as part of the “Rosary Unites” initiative, launched on October 14, 2020, with the blessing of His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. During this time, the daily joint prayer at 8:00 p.m. Kyiv time has united the faithful of the UGCC from all regions of Ukraine and 40 countries around the world.
This prayer project, which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the faithful in a time of isolation and fear, has since become a lasting spiritual space for unity among Ukrainians worldwide. After the start of the full-scale war, the initiative took on new meaning: every evening, participants ask God for peace in Ukraine and pray for soldiers, prisoners, the deceased, and their families.
Over five years of broadcasting, Zhyve Television has conducted more than 1,500 prayer broadcasts. Parishes from across Ukraine and 40 countries around the world have joined the communal rosary. Italy, the United States, and Poland became the leading diaspora communities, while among Ukrainian regions, Lviv was the most active (530 broadcasts), followed by Ivano-Frankivsk (217) and Ternopil (200).
Despite technical difficulties, wartime conditions, and attempts to disrupt transmissions, the Zhyve TV team continues to provide daily live prayer gatherings. Chaplains, military personnel, monks, and lay people often join the broadcasts, leading prayers even in the most challenging circumstances.
Participants in the rosary prayer say it has become an integral part of their spiritual lives: it unites families, parishes, and Ukrainians across the globe around a common request—for peace and hope.
The culmination of the fifth-anniversary celebrations will be the “Pilgrimage with the Rosary”, which will take place on November 2, 2025. Faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from across Ukraine and abroad will gather at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. The program will include communal prayer of the rosary, master classes, interactive meetings, and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, to be led by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. Pilgrims will also have the opportunity to go to Confession and receive Communion in the Patriarchal Cathedral, one of the pilgrimage churches of the Jubilee Year.
The UGCC Department for Information
